Jefferson Chamber Education Foundation

Wishing to ensure the success of the country’s first charter school to be run by a Chamber of Commerce, the Jefferson Community Foundation recently awarded a grant of $25,000 to the Jefferson Foundation Charter Academy. The charter school, geared toward at-risk students who are either over-age for their grade or behind in credits, will offer a technology-based curriculum that better prepares its students to enter an increasingly competitive workforce. Research reveals that most high school drops-outs are over-age and significantly behind in the accumulation of academic credits. As no less than fifty percent of all high school students in Jefferson Parish are over-age, the at-risk student population in that community is quite large and clearly in need of the sort of intervention envisioned by the JFCA. With the combined assistance of full-time teachers and tutors, the student-teacher ratio in each classroom will be a remarkable ten-to-one.

Joining the Jefferson Community Foundation in this initiative are Metairie Bank and businessman Henry Shane, whose contributions will further leverage the LCF’s impact.

PICTURED IN THE PHOTO: (left to right) are Ricky Burke, chairman of the Jefferson Chamber Foundation Academy; Ronnie Sloan, chairman of the Jefferson Chamber; Ric Smith, president of the Jefferson Community Foundation; and Jim Garvey, board member of the Jefferson Community Foundation.

Jefferson the Beautiful and Jefferson Beautification, Inc.

Each organization was given $25,000 to establish a funding source that offers a matching grants program as an incentive to subdivisions on the East and West Banks of Jefferson Parish to beautify their entry ways. It is expected that this initiative will create greatly improved entry ways to neighborhoods that will, in turn, lead to citizen “buy-in” in the forms of more private investment in other neighborhood beautification projects and an enhanced feeling of civic pride, not to mention more marketable neighborhoods.